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The Honorable Thomas J. Moyer, Chief Justice, The Ohio Supreme Court
This past spring, Franklin County Common Pleas Judge John A. Connor drew a hailstorm of criticism from public officials, some members of the Ohio General Assembly, the Columbus community and earned himself a dubious story from a national commentator. While his decision to provide five years probation including a year of house arrest for sex offender Andrew S. Selva raised the ire of the community, it also brought judges to their feet in his defense and in defense of the vital importance of an "independent judiciary."
Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, Thomas Moyer, commented in a March 26 Columbus Dispatch editorial by Joe Hallett: "It was a situation where somebody had to speak up and say that judges should not be threatened for exercising their legal authority." In the same article, Hallett reminded readers that Moyer's 20-year tenure makes him the dean of the nation's state chief justices and third longest serving in Ohio history, implying that Moyer had earned the right to weigh in on this matter.
"I've seen localized public outcries against judges' decisions," Moyer said in the Hallett interview, "but the remedy has always been in the context of ???we'll remember this in the next election.' I have never seen anything like this, where the General Assembly threatens a judge."
The hue and cry has faded, but has the sting gone out of the community? Will there be a challenge of the independent judiciary or was this just a summer thunderstorm in the global climate of local opinion?
Don't miss the opportunity to hear Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court Thomas Moyer share his thoughts on the topic.
This past spring, Franklin County Common Pleas Judge John A. Connor drew a hailstorm of criticism from public officials, some members of the Ohio General Assembly, the Columbus community and earned himself a dubious story from a national commentator. While his decision to provide five years probation including a year of house arrest for sex offender Andrew S. Selva raised the ire of the community, it also brought judges to their feet in his defense and in defense of the vital importance of an "independent judiciary."
Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, Thomas Moyer, commented in a March 26 Columbus Dispatch editorial by Joe Hallett: "It was a situation where somebody had to speak up and say that judges should not be threatened for exercising their legal authority." In the same article, Hallett reminded readers that Moyer's 20-year tenure makes him the dean of the nation's state chief justices and third longest serving in Ohio history, implying that Moyer had earned the right to weigh in on this matter.
"I've seen localized public outcries against judges' decisions," Moyer said in the Hallett interview, "but the remedy has always been in the context of ???we'll remember this in the next election.' I have never seen anything like this, where the General Assembly threatens a judge."
The hue and cry has faded, but has the sting gone out of the community? Will there be a challenge of the independent judiciary or was this just a summer thunderstorm in the global climate of local opinion?
Don't miss the opportunity to hear Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court Thomas Moyer share his thoughts on the topic.
June 28, 2006